


The Body of Sorrow

by almostannette



Series: Annette's Gradence AU fics [3]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blow Jobs, Curses, Gellert is a massive jerk, Graves doesn't believe in magic or curses, Grindelwald and Credence work at funfairs, Inspired by a Movie, M/M, Mind Control, Prophecies, Seer!Credence, at least at first, because Credence is literally Cesare 2.0, inspired by Sleeping Beauty, inspired by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-17 12:29:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9323633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almostannette/pseuds/almostannette
Summary: “I’m sorry, Credence,” Percival interrupted him. “Grindelwald seems like an immoral character, yet you still call him by his first name.”Credence shrugged and his mouth twisted into a crooked smile. “Gellert has been keeping me prisoner for eight years. You don’t think I have any respect for him left, do you?”





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty and the movies The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and teeny tiny bit by the movie Citizen Kane.
> 
> If you have never seen The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, fear not: Dr. Caligari is a madman with crazy hair who manipulates a sad young man with a bowl cut (whose name starts with C by the way) to do his bidding. It's all set in the 1920s. (Doesn't this sound kind of familiar?) I only use a few aspects of the movie, which are hopefully portrayed clear enough.
> 
> The title is from the Nick Cave song "The Carny".
> 
> I use German chapter titles, because I see Grindelwald as a German in this fic and I play with that a little bit - find translations of the chapter titles in the end notes
> 
> English is not my first language, this fic is unbeta'd, I apologize for any mistakes I might have made!

**Prologue – Komm, oh Tod, du Schlafes Bruder**

Master Gellert Grindelwald entered the town of Hogsmeade on a sweltering summer morning in the year of the Lord 1926, parked his caravan in the courtyard of the _Three Broomsticks_ and deposited his most precious belongings in the room he’d booked in advance.

(Although not a commonly known fact at the time the afore-mentioned event took place, among these belongings was a young man, who Master Grindelwald rarely let out of his sight.)

According to Britta Rosmerta, the innkeeper, Master Grindelwald did not make a great stir at first.

“Sure, he looked a little funny, but those foreigners all look a little funny. He was there for the fair, after all, you gotta be a little touched in the head to work there, so nobody asked any questions,” Britta told everyone who was willing to listen to her stories.

In the broadest sense, she was right. Master Grindelwald, with his blond hair and icy blue eyes, was a foreigner, a fact that was easily recognizable once one heard him speak with his thick accent. His appearance was unusual insofar as his haircut and beard were eccentric to say the least. The deathly pallor of his skin did nothing to rectify his looks.

Still, he would have been nothing special – a fair was going to be held at Hogsmeade for the next week, and Master Grindelwald was only one among countless showmen and -women who wished to showcase their talents for the attention-starved town-folk.

Shortly after his arrival in the inn, Master Grindelwald locked his room and made his way downstairs. After a polite enquiry in his strange-sounding English, some patrons of the _Three Broomsticks_ directed him to the town hall, where he would need to secure a permit to exhibit his show.

Abernathy, a clerk at the town hall, recalled that he ran into Master Grindelwald and advised him not to bother Mr. Shaw, as the latter was in a decidedly bad mood. Master Grindelwald, though, had not listened to him. Judging from his storytelling, Abernathy seemed to have been present for the conversation that took place between the late Henry Shaw Jr. and Master Grindelwald, although when pressed why he could relay their discussion verbatim, he stuttered and blushed.

Nevertheless, Abernathy reported that Master Grindelwald requested a permission to exhibit a somnambulist at the Hogsmeade town fair, but was told by Mr. Shaw to leave his office, in harsh words, at that.

“I…I signed a permit for him,” Abernathy admitted. “I felt bad for him. I didn’t even know what a somnambulist was at that point. I thought it might be a machine that he’d invented. I really didn’t know…”

Master Grindelwald, after receiving his permit, returned to the _Three Broomsticks_ and ordered lunch for two. He requested the food on a tray, which he carried to his room. Although Master Grindelwald had booked a room for only one person, this behavior didn’t raise any eyebrows either. The general consensus was that the man might have just been very hungry and valued privacy when he ate. You never knew it with those foreigners, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part I, in which Abernathy learns what a somnambulist is and Percival meets Credence.

**I - Der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland**

“Percival, you’re going to the fair with us,” Tina proclaimed and shoved a pamphlet under his nose. “It’s going to be fun!”

Percival glanced at her. Her determined expression told him that he was going to enjoy himself at the fair, whether he wanted or not.

“I don’t see why you have to drag me along – I’d only be the third wheel. Or the fifth wheel, really,” he objected.

Tina shook her head. “Queenie and Jacob can’t make it. Tony’s teething.”

Percival tuned Tina out for a moment and thanked a God he didn’t believe in for the fact that he didn’t have children.

“…Newt will inevitably run off and investigate whether all the animals are treated ethically, I need you to keep me company,” Tina finished.

“Alright,” Percival gave in. “I’ll come.”

*** *** ***

Percival was at the fair with Newt and Tina and had so far not enjoyed himself very much. He mostly pointed out that all the magic tricks they were shown were doubtlessly cheap tricks and, in most cases, the performances were poor as well.

“I don’t see why I have to bother with this,” he mumbled, after they’d passed another wannabe magician who claimed she could read their future from the lines in their palms.

“Do try and enjoy yourself a little bit,” Tina hissed at him. “You need to get out more, you can’t just sit in your house all day and grumble about your life choices.”

Newt had left them behind about five minutes ago, when he’d spotted a man who had a hand organ and a monkey. He’d told them he’d be right back, he just wanted to make sure the monkey was treated alright, and Tina had translated this for Percival as ‘Don’t bother, we’ll meet again at home’.

Tina had grasped Percival’s arm and led him around the fair.

“You know what, Percival? We’ll go to one last show and then I’ll let you go home, alright?” she suggested.

Percival agreed to her compromise.

They soon came to a makeshift tent that captured Tina’s interest and she pulled on his arm.

“Come on, doesn’t this look exciting?” she prompted and started maneuvering Percival in the direction of the tent.

A middle-aged, blond man dressed in a strange costume was standing before the tent and announcing something, probably to do with his show. He spoke with such a strong accent, that Percival needed a few moments to begin to understand the gist of his speech – something about discovering the future and unveiling your past.

Percival rolled his eyes. Not another one of these funfair scams.

“Let’s watch the show,” Tina demanded. “After that, you can go home and I won’t bother you anymore.”

With a sigh, Percival nodded and they paid the entrance fee of eight sickles to the carny man.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Tina asked the foreigner. “We didn’t hear your entire announcement. May I ask for your name and where you are from?”

The man gave her a small, tight-lipped smiled. “They call me Master Grindelwald, _mein Fräulein_. As you can no doubt hear from my accent, I come from Germany, from Franconia, to be precise. My…assistant, though, is American.”

“Well, I do hope you both have a wonderful time in Hogsmeade,” Tina said with a broad grin, ignoring the latent hostility in Master Grindelwald’s gaze.

Percival just nodded at the blond man and dragged Tina into the tent, away from the performer.

“He’s a creep,” Percival whispered to her when they were out of earshot.

“You only say that because of his accent and his looks,” Tina protested as they took their seats. “Just give the man a fair chance, will you?”

“Okay, then let’s watch his little wand-waving hocus-pocus-show,” Percival told her and settled down in his seat. It was a narrow chair and one of the legs must have been slightly too short, because it wobbled.

After about ten more minutes of waiting time, a quarter of the seats were still free – Percival glanced through the audience and checked whether he saw any familiar faces, but save for rat-faced Abernathy and a visibly intoxicated Henry Shaw Jr., he didn’t recognize anyone at first glance.

A gong sound signaled them that the show was about to start and Percival made sure to fix his eyes on the stage.

The curtain was lifted and Master Grindelwald stepped onto the stage. A twin-sized bed stood center stage and as Percival looked closer, he could make out the features of the individual that lay in it.

Between the rumpled white sheets, looking for all intents and purposes fast asleep, lay the most beautiful person Percival had ever seen. It was a young man – he had a dark mop of hair, sharp cheekbones and lips so red, Percival was convinced he must have applied lipstick before the show.

“Ladies and gentlemen, see the somnambulist. Come and see Credence, the miracle,” Master Grindelwald implored with an accented voice. “He’s twenty-three years old and has been asleep ever since his fifteenth birthday,” he continued.

Graves frowned. The German had to work on his story. The delicate young man in the bed wouldn’t look so well kempt if he spent all his time sleeping.

“Credence,” the German called solemnly. “Credence, sweet rosebud, awake from your dark slumber!”

The young man’s features went through a number of emotions in a short amount of time. He furrowed his brow, bit his lip, flared his nostrils and finally opened his eyes wide, as if he was in panic.

“My little rosebud,” Grindelwald called. Credence’s eyes instantly glazed over, and he became perfectly docile.

Grindelwald was immediately at his side and helped him out of the bed. His touches might have lingered on the young man’s body longer than was strictly necessary for practicality’s sake, but Percival, with regards to his own preferences, could hardly object if the two men were lovers and a bit of their personal relationship bled into their stage performance.

“Credence knows your past and he sees your future. Judge for yourselves - ask him any question you can think of and he will give you the correct answer,” Grindelwald proclaimed and led Credence downstage.

The somnambulist stood on his long thin legs and answered the questions the audience threw at him. A few people asked questions about their past, in order to test whether it was a scam or not, but judging from the surprised expressions, Credence seemed to get all of the answers right.

Abernathy stood up and shifted his weight nervously from one leg to the other. “I have a question,” he told the sleepwalker. “Will…will he ever reciprocate my feelings?”

Credence’s eyebrows jumped in surprise, before he frowned. “I’m sorry, sir,” he answered. “He will find the love of his life soon, but it won’t be you.”

At this answer, Abernathy visibly deflated and even made his way out of the tent, everyone’s eyes on him, except Credence, whose unseeing eyes stared off into the distance and Master Grindelwald, who watched Credence like a hawk.

“When will I get married?” Tina asked in order to restore a bit of normalcy to the situation.

“The one you love will ask you two days before Christmas,” Credence replied in a soft voice, chocolate brown eyes unfocused and glassy. “Your engagement will only last two months, then you will be married.”

The questions continued in this manner for quite some time, until Percival decided that this charade had gone on for too long.

He stood up and addressed the alleged somnambulist. “How long do you plan to make money with this sham?” he called.

Master Grindelwald, looming like a pale specter behind Credence, didn’t even bother to hide his scowl. Credence, for his part, blinked in surprise and the hazy expression vanished from his face. The somnambulist licked his red, red lips and looked Percival squarely in the eyes.

“It’s not a charade,” Credence answered in a firm voice, very different from the soft voice he’d used to answer questions before. “Everything you see on this stage is real,” he added.

Percival barely refrained from rolling his eyes at this answer, especially now that his question had jolted the young man out of whatever strange trance he’d pretended to be in. He wanted to follow it up with another question, to make him get even more out of character, but Master Grindelwald quickly stepped forward and grabbed Credence’s arm.

“Sweet little rosebud,” he crooned into the young man’s ear and Credence became completely submissive once more.

The questions continued until Henry Shaw Jr., emboldened by alcohol, pushed his way through the onlookers.

“Hey, freak, when am I going to die?” he slurred. “Or do you not know that, huh?”

Credence’s eyelids fluttered and he seemed distressed, but seemingly not because of the insult.

“Out with it, nancy boy, how long will I live?” Shaw called.

“Until the break of dawn,” Credence choked out and tears were streaming down his face. “I’m so sorry, sir,” he added.

Grindelwald stepped up and pulled Credence into a hug.

“Sleep, little rosebud,” he crooned and the boy went limp in his arms.

The curtain fell. The theater was silent except for the sleepwalker’s muffled sobs and Grindelwald’s eerie, accented voice that tried to calm him down.

*** *** ***

And this would have been the end of the slightly disturbing affair, had Henry Shaw Jr. not been found lifeless in his bed the next morning.

Someone had broken into his home and stabbed him with a knife.

*** *** ***

The news of Mr. Shaw’s death was all over town before noon and Percival Graves was found frantically knocking on the door to Tina Goldstein’s apartment at 11am.

The door was opened by Newt, who took one look at Percival’s distressed features and promptly stepped aside to let the older man in.

“I need to speak to Tina,” Percival demanded. “It’s about Shaw’s murder.”

“They’re going to question the showman later in the day,” Newt responded. “If this is about the strange magician and his assistant?”

“Yes, but I think they shouldn’t only concentrate on Grindelwald, they should question his assistant,” Percival insisted.

Newt shrugged. “Apparently, he’s really a sleepwalker and sleeps for almost all of the time. Investigators were in their room in the _Three Broomsticks_ and they couldn’t wake him up, but don’t tell Tina that I’ve told you that.”

“So they’re staying in the _Three Broomsticks_?” Percival questioned and squared his shoulders.

“What do you plan to do?” Newt asked, but realized what Percival had in mind right away. “No, Percival, don’t do it. Just don’t.”

Percival swallowed and clenched his fists. “Oh no, I’ll do it. I’m going to talk to the sleepwalker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** "Der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland" = "Death is a master from Germany" - from the poem "Todesfuge"/"Death fugue" by Paul Celan
> 
> If you leave me a comment, I will love you forever! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part II, in which, among other things, Percival attempts to interrogate Credence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fic is unbeta'd and English is sadly not my native language, so I apologize for any mistakes.

**II - Eine Rose gebrochen, ehe der Sturm sie entblättert*****

Percival made his way to the _Three Broomsticks_ , the inn where Grindelwald was staying, and asked Britta which room the German inhabited. He was delighted to hear that the room was on the ground floor – Percival went outside the inn once again and peered through the window into the room.

Percival expected the supposed somnambulist to be up and about, but was surprised to see that Credence (if that even was his real name) was still dressed in the same old-fashioned suit he’d worn during his performance and that he had been practically deposited on the only bed in the room, there was no nicer way to put it. It looked as though Grindelwald had just unceremoniously thrown the young man onto the mattress like a rag doll.

Percival made his way into the inn again and knocked on the door of Grindelwald’s room.

“Please open the door!” Percival called. “Credence, I know you’re in there. Wake up, I want to talk to you!”

Behind the door, something or someone fell to the floor with a heavy thud. After that, Percival heard a muffled curse, hasty footsteps and then the door was unlocked. It opened to reveal Credence, the alleged sleepwalker, very much awake and with tousled hair.

“It’s you,” he whispered, obviously astonished and let Percival in. “What are you doing here? You’re not a wizard like him.”

“Like who?” Percival asked. “Grindelwald?”

Credence nodded frantically and locked the door. The room was so cramped that Credence had to sit on the bed while Percival took the only chair in the room.

“I’m not a carny man. My name is Percival Graves. I…I work for the Hogsmeade Police. Yes, I’m a policeman” Percival offered.

“You’re not,” Credence replied. “You’d love to be one, but your father made you go to Law School, even though you hated every moment of it. When you finally had your diploma, it was too late for you to join the police force. You only worked as a lawyer for about five years and you’ve been living off your father’s considerable inheritance ever since. You also invest in the stock market.”

Percival tried not to show his anger at the very accurate observation, but failed. “Who told you that?” he demanded hotly. “Tina? Newt? Queenie?”

Credence reluctantly met his eye. “You have a desire to investigate and you think you can finally get a bit of glory when you interrogate the sketchy showman and his toy.” The young man curled up into a ball and wrapped his arms around his shins. “You thought it was an act, didn’t you, Percival?” the young man asked.

“Well, I…yes, of course I did,” Percival answered. “Ninety-nine percent of these things are an act.”

“Not Gellert,” Credence admitted. “He’s genuine.”

“So you really are a sleepwalker?” Percival asked quietly.

Credence shook his head. “Not quite, no,” he said and rested one cheek on his bony knees. “Gellert made me into what I am today,” he laughed. It sounded bitter and utterly devoid of humor. “Do you want to hear my story, Percival?”

“Yes,” Percival breathed.

“Well, then…,” Credence said, took a deep breath and commenced telling his tale.

He’d been adopted by a woman named Mary Lou Barebone when he’d been ten years old. Mrs. Barebone was a very religious woman and kept preaching against witches and magic. Most people didn’t take her seriously, but she wasn’t deterred from her cause. Apparently, Credence had always been able to see other people’s past.

“I can read it right off their faces,” Credence explained.

It took him a while to realize that not everyone could do this, but Mrs. Barebone was furious whenever he said something about an event that Credence should not be able to know anything about.

“Traumatic experiences tend to stick out like a sore thumb in someone’s past, you know?” he commented.

Credence told Percival how he’d met Gellert Grindelwald when Credence had been fourteen. His sister and he had been tasked with giving out pamphlets at a funfair, much like the one in Hogsmeade. Credence wanted to give a pamphlet to Gellert, but was shocked once he saw a tragic event in the blond man’s past that overshadowed everything else about the man’s life.

“I made the mistake of telling him how sorry I felt about what happened with Ariana and, unfortunately, he was intrigued. He spent the remainder of the day asking me about my abilities,” Credence pointed out.

Gellert came to see Credence each day, for as long as the fair lasted. Sometimes, he performed magic for the boy – in hindsight, it had been just cheap tricks, but at the time, Credence had been impressed. Gellert promised he’d teach Credence to not only see the past, but also the future, because that was a skill people would pay good money for.

“I’m sorry, Credence,” Percival interrupted him. “The way you describe him and from what I’ve seen of him, Grindelwald seems like an immoral character, yet you still call him by his first name.”

Credence shrugged and his mouth twisted into a crooked smile. “He’s been keeping me prisoner for eight years. You don’t think I have any respect for him left, do you?”

Percival gulped and hastily shook his head. “Why don’t you just leave? Grindelwald is being interrogated by the police at the moment – I don’t see him keeping you in chains.”

“You think I didn’t try to escape before? Gellert doesn’t need chains, he’s more devious than that. He cursed me,” Credence replied.

Percival tried to hide his laughter and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“So, you’re a seer and Grindelwald’s a sorcerer. And he cursed you like they do in old-fashioned fairytales. Do you expect me to believe that?”

Credence gave him a long-suffering look before he ran his hand through his hair.

“Do you want to hear the rest of my story or do you want to mock me? You think I’m a freak, don’t you?” he asked. “If I want someone to treat me badly, I’ll talk to Gellert.”

“No, sorry,” Percival was quick to apologize. “I shouldn’t have presumed…it wasn’t my…I’m sorry. Please, continue.”

Credence shrugged. “Apology accepted. Where was I?”

“Grindelwald cursed you,” Percival supplied, feeling slightly foolish at speaking these words, but doing his best not to show it.

Credence nodded to himself and resumed telling his story. The fair had moved on and the boy had forgotten all about Gellert, when the German suddenly made another appearance on Credence’s fifteenth birthday. Allegedly, he’d simply knocked on the door of the rickety church-building where Credence lived with his adopted family and demanded to see Credence. Gellert had cast a spell on Mrs. Barebone to make her not mind the fact that a strange, older man sought out her adoptive son.

Gellert had given Credence a rose, with the words ‘a pretty flower for a pretty boy’. Credence took it out of courtesy, but pricked his finger on a thorn. Immediately after that, he’d felt very tired and lost consciousness.

“The next time I woke up, I found myself in the back of Gellert’s caravan, a hundred miles from home and Gellert told me I was ‘his’ now. I’ve tried to run away several times, but he can put me in a trance or to sleep by saying one word and then I’m at his mercy,” Credence concluded.

“It’s ‘rosebud’, isn’t it? The word he uses to control you,” Percival commented.

“Yes,” Credence shuddered. “I don’t like the sound of it.”

“I won’t say it again,” Percival said. “So, this act about being a sleepwalker who can see the future is just a scheme to make money. How did you know that Shaw was going to be murdered, though? You must admit that this is suspicious.”

“It’s not that simple,” Credence objected. “I can always see the past, but I can only see the future when I’m in a trance. The past is easier to see because it has already happened. In a trance, I see all the different ways the future could go, that’s why I need a specific question to focus on, in order to give a correct answer. I never remember all the questions and answers I give, but I do occasionally remember glimpses of the future, but without the context, those images usually don’t make sense for me.”

He then went on to explain how Gellert had first wanted Credence to work as his assistant during Gellert’s regular magic shows, but the audience hadn’t liked it. They expected the assistant to be a busty, beautiful woman and not a frightened boy, who very obviously didn’t want to be on the stage.

Whenever Credence did something Gellert didn’t like, the German would keep him asleep or in a trance for longer and longer periods of time as a punishment. The longest he’d spent in a trance had been two months, when Credence had been sixteen. Soon after that, Gellert realized that he could make the whole thing into its own independent show and he came up with the sleepwalker scheme.

“All in all, he keeps you around because you make him money,” Percival summarized.

“That’s a part of it, yes,” Credence replied. “I don’t think it’s the full truth, though, but I can’t verify anything,” he added.

“What do you mean?” Percival inquired, but was afraid that he already had an idea of what Credence was alluding to.

“I can’t get away from him,” Credence began and desperation bled into his voice. “The curse keeps calling me back to him, no matter what I do. He can put me in a trance whenever he wants and then he controls my every move. Just because I don’t remember anything, doesn’t mean he never…”

Percival felt as if he’d swallowed an entire ice cube.

“You mean to tell me he lured a fifteen-year-old away from his family because he…because he wanted you?” Percival asked and felt faintly sick.

“I don’t remember anything he does to me in a trace, but I get nightmares and I sometimes wake up with…,” Credence trailed off, bit his lip and shook his head for a moment.

“You need to get away from Grindelwald as soon as possible,” Percival decided. “You cannot stay with him. Credence, why has nobody ever tried to help you before?”

Credence, for his part, flushed red, whether due to embarrassment or anger, Percival couldn’t quite tell.

“Outside of shows, Gellert is the only person I interact with on a regular basis. When we’re not doing a show in a town, I’m allowed to move freely, because he knows the curse will make me come back to him,” he reluctantly explained.

“You said that twice now. How does this curse tie you to him?”

Credence made a soft noise in the back of his throat. “It feels like an itch under my skin when I’m away from him, it gets worse the longer and farther I’m away until my whole body hurts so much that I just want to die,” Credence said. “Also, usually only Gellert can make me wake up, but we saw each other twice, didn’t we, and each time you spoke with me, you made me wake up, even though you shouldn’t be able to do so.”

“So I’m special?” Percival grinned in an attempt to lighten the mood a little bit.

Credence rolled his eyes.

“You’re a bit conceited.”

“I’m aware,” Percival answered.

“Good,” Credence replied. “So, you can make me wake up when no-one else except Gellert can, but the curse is still there.”

In a momentary lapse of reason, Percival stood up and sat beside Credence on the bed.

“Any idea on what we have to do to break the curse?” he asked and just barely managed to keep himself from reaching for Credence’s hand.

“I don’t know any magic myself. I’m a seer, not a sorcerer,” Credence said in a glum voice. “And a bad one at that, when I can only consciously see the past.”

The air in the room suddenly seemed stifling and Percival’s vest felt too tight.

“Still, when you’re in a trance, you said you’re omniscient. If I go to another one of your shows and ask you about what it takes to break the curse, you tell me and afterwards, we meet up and I tell you. Once we know what we have to do, we can break the curse together.”

Credence shifted so he faced Percival directly and he smiled. Even though it was supposed to be a sweet smile, he could detect a trace of something dark on his face.

“Why would you want to help me? What’s your motive?” he asked.

Percival held up his hands in an attempt to show that he posed no threat.

“I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t offer to help you. He’s keeping you captive and you need to be able to live your life outside of his influence,” Percival responded.

Credence twisted his hands in his laps. “You mean to offer me a life away from Gellert? A life with you, you mean?”

“Credence…,” Percival implored. “Yes, if you want to, you can live at my house, but it wouldn’t be like _this_. I don’t want you thinking you’ll exchange one cage for another.”

Credence didn’t look up. “You’d be interested, though. You think I’m beautiful,” he stated. “You do, don’t you?”

Percival coughed slightly ashamed. “Well, yes. I mean, look at you…but I would never do anything you don’t want.”

Credence finally met his eyes. “If we _do_ manage to break the curse, I won’t have any debts to pay?”

Percival vehemently shook his head, heartbroken because Credence trusted him so little.

“I don’t even expect you to _like_ me,” he replied.

To his immense surprise, the somnambulist blushed and he stuttered something incomprehensible.

“I’m sorry,” Percival inquired. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

Credence didn’t meet his eyes. “I told you, sometimes I remember a few images from my trance.”

“Yes, but you also said they don’t make sense without the adequate questions.”

The sleepwalker bit his lip. “I needed to know what your agenda was, because in a trance I saw us together,” he confessed.

“What, like this here?” Percival asked and Credence shook his head.

“No…we…not like this. It was a different setting. From the looks of it, I was happy,” Credence answered and a hopeful look crossed his features. “Perhaps you’re really meant to help me,” he added.

“I’ll do my best,” Percival said in a solemn voice.

Credence met his eyes. “I believe you,” he said. “You should leave now, though. I can’t imagine Gellert will be away for much longer and he must not find out that someone’s been speaking with me.”

Percival nodded reluctantly and stood up. “I guess we’ll see each other at the show, then,” he said.

“Guess so,” Credence mumbled and stared at the door with an almost longing expression. Percival’s every instinct told him to take the boy away from Grindelwald right now, to not wait any longer, but he fought it down.

He moved to the door and was about to turn the key, when Credence suddenly stood up. Percival turned around to look at him and was surprised when Credence hugged him tightly. Credence released him before Percival could return the hug and seemed surprised at his own daring behavior.

“Stay safe,” Credence whispered. “Please.”

“You too,” Percival managed, before Credence unlocked the door and ushered Percival out of the room.

Percival slowly made his way back home. His mind always seemed to return to the cursed young man in the _Three Broomsticks_ and he wanted to do his best to help him escape from this hellish situation.

*** *** ***

Master Grindelwald had somehow managed to lie his way out of a proper investigation – according to Tina, Credence had provided an alibi for him, even though the young man surely knew that Grindelwald was responsible for Shaw’s murder.

Dependent on the German as Credence was, it was a natural reaction, Percival mused. Still, perhaps his days as Grindelwald’s captive would be over soon – he’d just have to ask Credence how the curse might be broken and all would be well.

That’s how Percival found himself at the fun fair again, outside of Master Grindelwald’s tent. The blond man regarded him with narrowed eyes.

“Ah, it is the non-believer again, I see,” Grindelwald said.

Percival had to fight down his revulsion at Credence’s captor and attempted a smile, which amounted to little more than Percival baring his teeth.

“Perhaps I’m no longer a non-believer, Master Grindelwald? Could it not be possible that you have converted me?” he answered.

Grindelwald remained unperturbed. “Do not take me for a fool. Who knows what might happen to you if you do?” he said with a small sinister smile.

“Are you threatening me?” Percival asked.

“Not at all,” the other man replied. “ _Ich scherze nur_ , as we say in Germany. I’m only joking.”

“Right,” Percival mumbled, handed Grindelwald the entrance fee and entered the tent. He took a seat close to the stage and noted that more people had come to the show than two days ago. The majority of the audience were chattering about Grindelwald’s possible involvement in Shaw’s murder and how the alleged somnambulist had correctly predicted Shaw’s death.

Same as before, a gong announced the beginning of the show and the curtain was lifted. Percival didn’t listen to Grindelwald’s spiel, but instead focused on Credence. He was sleeping in his bed, as usual, but contrary to the last time Percival had seen him, Credence’s mouth seemed to be fixed in a perpetual frown. A bruise, barely covered by stage makeup, was blooming on his cheekbone.

Percival clenched his hands and reminded himself to be calm. He wasn’t supposed to care about Credence, but keeping a stony façade was difficult, when Grindelwald touched Credence as he helped him out of the bed, and Credence complied, unaware and entranced.

The questions started, and Percival eventually asked his first question.

“When will I meet my true love?” he inquired, because it was unobtrusive and would not arouse Grindelwald’s suspicion.

Interestingly, Credence’s reaction was the same as it had been the last time – his state of unawareness vanished and his eyes, rather than staring into nothingness, focused on Percival. The sleepwalker’s mouth twitched into the tiniest vestige of a smile.

“You’ve already met them, but you’re not yet aware of the true nature of your feelings. You’ll be with them tonight,” Credence answered and Percival gave him a wry smile. As much as he believed Credence that he did see the future in his trances, it was very obvious now that the somnambulist was making something up. Percival had no intention of meeting anyone except Credence tonight, much less ‘the love of his life’.

Predictably, an impatiently hissed ‘rosebud’ from Grindelwald later, Credence was in a trance once more and answered the audience’s other questions. Percival had thought long about how he’d approach the difficult matter of asking Credence about the curse, when his captor was watching with eagle eyes.

Finally, after a lot of ruminating and furrowed brows, he thought he had found a phrasing that would hopefully be unobtrusive enough as to not arouse the German’s suspicion too much, yet would still allow Credence to understand the meaning of Percival’s question.

After another ten minutes of questioning, Percival rose from his seat once more.

“I have another question,” he said. “How will your existence as a sleepwalker end?”

Credence seemed to wake from his trance again, but much more slowly than before – a sign perhaps that Grindelwald had caught on to Percival’s penchant for jerking Credence out of his trances? The sleepwalker eyed him with a curious expression, and Percival was holding his breath.

“Just like Briar Rose, a gallant knight will come and set me free from the sorcerer’s dark curse.”

“How exactly will this knight go about that?” Percival dared to enquire.

“Credence!” Grindelwald hissed and made the young man look over to him. “My rosebud, don’t you think this man has already asked enough questions?”

Another woman asked a different question and Credence was made to answer that one. Grindelwald glared knowingly at Percival and when the showman was sure that he had Percival’s attention, the blond winked maliciously at him.

Percival sank back into his seat and pondered over the sleepwalker’s words. Credence had quite literally spoken in riddles and Percival suspected that Grindelwald would not let Credence out of his sight, much less let him meet up with Percival.

How was he going to help the young man?

After the show was over, Percival walked home and wrote down Credence’s words. A gallant knight who’d set him free – Percival grinned wryly. It was so like Grindelwald to use medieval imagery, the man himself seemed old-fashioned and cruel.

Eventually, he thought about how he was going to meet Credence in order to develop a plan with the sleepwalker and didn’t come up with a solution. After a glass of Bourbon, Percival went to sleep, still pondering over the question on how he could help Credence escape from Grindelwald’s clutches.

*** *** ***

Percival could not tell how long he’d been sleeping, but he woke with a start when something fell to the floor beside his bed. He blinked his eyes open and in the dim moonlight that shone through the window, he could make out the outlines of a tall person standing next to his bed. The person was in tears.

“I’m sorry,” Percival could make out. “I’m so sorry.”

The voice sounded terribly familiar.

“Credence?” he asked and switched on the lamp on his nightstand. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

His eyes needed a few moments to get used to the light, and then he could make out Credence’s face a bit better. The young man’s eyes were red-rimmed and he was wringing his hands.

“I don’t know how I…Gellert made me...he…,” Credence stuttered.

Percival got up and made Credence sit on the bed. He wasn’t quite sure whether touch would be welcomed or not, so he tentatively reached out and hugged Credence, who leaned into it. Percival ran a hand over the young man’s trembling back in an effort to comfort him.

“Alright, it’s okay, it’s okay…what do you remember?” he asked.

Credence was incoherent for a few moments, but he eventually opened his mouth.

“Gellert was angry. He…he told me that you’d been asking strange questions. He asked me whether I liked you and why you asked such strange questions today. Then Gellert told me that I’d do to you what he had done to the drunk man in the show a few days ago and the next thing I know is that I woke up, standing beside your bed and holding a knife in my hands. He wanted me to kill you,” Credence sobbed.

Percival reached down and found a knife. It must have been the object that caused the cluttering sound that had woken him up. Scared, but determined not to show it, he shoved the knife underneath his bed, straightened back up and faced Credence.

“Grindelwald also hit you, didn’t he?” Percival asked and trailed the tips of his fingers over the bruise on Credence’s cheek. “I’m sorry,” he added. “I shouldn’t have…”

Credence shrugged and looked resigned. “That was after he got back from the police interrogation. He was stressed out and I was in the way. That’s how he saw it, anyway.”

Percival shushed him. “Did he do anything else? Are you alright?”

Credence didn’t answer his question, he just looked at Percival. “Did you ask me how to break the curse? Do you know how I can be freed?” he implored.

Percival reached towards his nightstand and gave Credence the piece of paper on which he’d noted down the sleepwalker’s words.

Credence scrunched up his nose as he read the words and gave Percival a questioning look.

“A gallant knight?” he read. “I need to find a fearless nobleman to give me a kiss?” Credence let out a hysterical laugh, before he hunched over and buried his head in his hands. “I’m never going to be free.”

Percival took the paper from Credence’s hand. “Perhaps it’s not meant to be taken literally? I mean, you also told me that I’d be with my true love tonight, and that hasn’t happened.”

Credence lifted his head and stared at him with wide eyes.

“Percival? I think…maybe it did happen,” he whispered and took hold of Percival’s hands. “Maybe it’s happening right now.”

 

***Eine Rose gebrochen, ehe der Sturm sie entblättert. = (You have) Broken a rose before the storm had robbed it of its bloom. – from “Emilia Galotti” by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the fic, please tell me so by leaving a comment! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, the final chapter! I'm sleep-deprived and stressed out, but also proud of myself :)
> 
> Grindelwald speaks a bit of German in this chapter, translations can be found at the end of the chapter.
> 
> I apologize for any mistakes I might have made!

**III. Das furchtbare Ding, das sein Leben war, bekommt einen Sinn******

“Credence, what do you mean by that?” Percival asked, but was slightly distracted by Credence’s wide eyes that regarded him with incredible urgency. Credence looked so sad it broke Percival’s heart.

“I told you you’d be with your true love, but you haven’t been seeing anyone, have you?” the somnambulist inquired and immediately bit his bottom lip after he’d finished his question.

Percival slowly shook his head. The boy barely knew him and if they didn’t find a way to break the curse, Credence would soon be on the road with Grindelwald again, where the German would exhibit the boy at funfairs like an animal. “Do you really think _I_ might be your true love, Credence?” he asked, slightly out of breath.

The sleepwalker nodded dejectedly. “I like you. I know we only met a couple of days ago and even though we’ll probably never find out if we might have had something stable, something lasting…I already like you a lot,” he admitted.

“Oh…oh Credence,” Percival mumbled and enveloped the other man in a hug.

“Gellert plans to leave town before noon tomorrow and we don’t know how to break the curse. There are no noblemen in America,” Credence said quickly, cheek pressed against the other man’s chest. “I just want a few good memories before I have to be with Gellert again, living a half-life as his prisoner. Can we…can we do that, Percival?”

“Credence, are you sure?” Percival asked.

The sleepwalker pulled back from Percival’s hug and nodded, before he leaned forward and captured Percival’s lips in a kiss.

“Let me make this one decision for myself,” Credence whispered as he lay down and tried to pull Percival down with him.

Percival readily complied and privately marveled at this wonder of a boy in his bed. He would worship Credence the way he deserved, like the miracle that he was in Percival’s eyes. After a few more kisses to Credence’s mouth that grew ever needier, Percival undid Credence’s necktie and the first few buttons of his shirt in order to kiss along Credence’s neck and collarbone. He sucked a few marks into the sensitive skin at the junction of Credence’s neck and shoulder – Credence’s moans sent shivers through Percival and the younger man clutched at his shoulders to pull him closer.

“Too many clothes,” Credence muttered. Percival laughed and undid the buttons of his shirt as quickly as he could. He slid the shirt off his shoulders and was pleased to take in the hungry expression that had dawned on Credence’s face as he took in the sight of Percival’s bared chest.

Together, they made short work of the many layers Credence was wearing. Percival was loath to discover more fresh bruises along Credence’s ribcage and scars, stretched and distorted with age, on the younger man’s back. He winced as he theorized on who might have put them there, Grindelwald or someone else.

Credence misinterpreted Percival’s reaction to the sight of his body and pulled back.

“Am I suddenly repulsive to you?” he whispered and stared defiantly up into Percival’s eyes.

“Never,” Percival growled and ground his hips against Credence’s. The delicious friction made Credence tip his head back and let out a loud moan.

“Do that again!” he demanded.

Percival didn’t need to be told twice and they soon found a rhythm, both chasing the friction they so clearly wanted. After a while, Percival removed Credence’s belt, undid the buttons of his trousers and slipped his hand inside. Credence’s mouth fell open as Percival wrapped his hand around the other man’s cock and stroked him, ignoring his own cock that was straining against the fabric of his pants. He indulged Credence for a little while, before he pulled his hand back.

Credence mewled at the loss of contact.

“Oh, did you like that?” Percival asked with a smirk.

Credence glared at him, but the eagerness won out in the end and he quickly shimmied out of his trousers and underpants. Percival took a careful moment to look at Credence, splayed out naked before him and tried to commit the sight to memory as best as he could, bruises, scars and all.

It was a mystery to him how anyone could look at such beauty as Credence possessed and wanted to hurt him. Perhaps Percival was nothing more than an insignificant man without influence in the world, but he knew that in this moment, he’d helplessly obey any command that should fall from Credence’s kiss-swollen lips.

“What do you want me to do?” he rasped and met Credence’s gaze.

“What would you do?” Credence asked in turn, a flush high on his cheeks.

“Anything,” Percival replied with a solemnity that sounded misplaced, but slipped out unintentionally. “Your wish is my command,” he added, feeling as though were not asking Credence about what he wanted to do in bed, but rather swearing fealty to a ruler. Perhaps he was, in a way. He didn’t know how it had happened so fast, but he’d fallen for the young man, the miracle, in his bed.

“Suck me off,” Credence commanded. “Please,” he added after a moment, a bit embarrassed.

Percival kissed down Credence’s flat belly, feeling the muscles contract under his ministrations. He pressed kisses to the boy’s sharp, protruding hipbones and eventually, finally ran his tongue over the tip of Credence’s cock that was leaking pre-come.

Percival took as much of Credence’s cock into his mouth as he could and risked a glance at Credence’s face. The boy’s face looked as if he was completely gone and Percival started sucking in earnest.

Credence’s hand gripped his hair and it was just this side of painful, but Percival couldn’t care, not when Credence made such delicious noises. It didn’t take long for him to come and he didn’t give Percival a warning, so he did his best to swallow it down, even though he made a bit of a face at the taste.

Apparently, he’d reduced Credence to a state of post-orgasmic bliss, because Credence just stared at him as if he’d just accomplished a heroic deed and not just sucked him off.

With a start, Percival realized that this might have been the first blow job Credence had ever received and he froze.

“Thank you,” Credence mumbled and sat up. “Time to return the favor, I suppose?” he added, in a more cheerful voice.

“You don’t have to,” Percival reminded him and thought he might just take care of his erection himself. He didn’t want to force the boy into anything he might feel uncomfortable with…

“I want to,” Credence corrected him and held a finger to Percival’s lips. “Uhm…tell me if I do something wrong, though?”

“Just…just mind your teeth?” God, he sounded like an idiot.

“These need to go,” Credence whispered in his ear and gestured to his pants.

Percival took off his pants and he knew for a fact that this wasn’t at all how he’d planned this night to go, but he didn’t have the moral strength to complain or to tell Credence to stop.

The surreal element of the situation became ever more evident as Credence slid off the bed and moved to kneel between Percival’s thighs.

Percival still observed Credence as he gave a few tentative licks, but then he had to shut his eyes, as the sight overwhelmed him. The wet warmth of Credence’s mouth engulfed him and Percival thought that for a moment he’d died and gone to heaven.

He was close now and he tightened his grip on Credence’s locks as a warning, but if anything, Credence tried to take him even deeper, trying to prove himself as it seemed.

He hadn’t been neat and spit had dribbled down Credence’s chin as he lifted his mouth from his cock after Percival had come. The boy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Good?” he asked.

Percival, flabbergasted, just nodded and Credence crawled back onto the bed and into Percival’s arm. They lay together, sweaty and exhausted, Credence enveloped safely in Percival’s embrace.

“I think I like it when your visions come true,” Percival chuckled. “We can think of ways to break the curse tomorrow.” However, the laughter died in is throat when he felt Credence tense up.

“Don’t…don’t remind me of tomorrow, please,” Credence whispered. “I don’t want to go back to Gellert. I can already feel the curse a little bit, trying to make me go back to him.”

Percival closed his eyes for a moment. “I’ve got you,” he said at last. “For now, I’ve got you, and we’ll find a solution, I promise.”

He kissed Credence’s brow and ran his hand through Credence’s hair, playing with the dark tresses until he was sure Credence was fast asleep. Only then did Percival allow himself to fall asleep as well.

*** *** ***

Percival was the first to wake up, although it was rather late, judging from how the sun shone into his bedroom. Credence still slept peacefully beside him and the younger man’s hair was all over the place. Maybe Percival would comb it out for him later on.

With a smile, he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Credence’s lips. The young man’s eyes fluttered open and as he recognized Percival, he broke into a smile.

“Good morning, gorgeous” Percival quipped and pressed another kiss to Credence’s nose. Once he’d spotted the bruise on Credence’s cheek, his temper rapidly sobered.

“What…?” Credence began, but seemed to realize the cause for Percival’s unhappiness quickly. “Oh, right. I suppose it’s high time I find Gellert and…well,” he said and laughed a little, while his eyes looked dangerously glassy.

“Stay,” Percival was quick to say and held Credence back as he wanted to climb out of bed. “Please,” he added, and Credence looked at him. “We can go to Europe. I’m sure Newt knows some kind of British lord who’d give you a kiss to set you free.”

Credence ducked his head. “I don’t know if I can be away from Gellert for such a long time without there being… _side-effects_. Like I said, it will hurt so much, it might make me go mad with pain.”

Percival shook his head, not wanting to accept the sleepwalker’s words. “Then…where are you headed to next? I’ll follow you…”

Before Percival could finish his sentence, the two men were startled by loud shouting in the street.

Percival motioned for Credence to be quiet and moved to the window. Furtively, he opened it and glanced out into the streets.

Grindelwald was marching through the streets, shouting something in his accented voice that was hard to make out. After a few moments, Percival had determined that the blond man had slipped into using German in his anger and the harsh sounds resonated through the narrow streets of Hogsmeade.

“ _Wo hast du dich verkrochen, du undankbares Ding?_ Credence!“ he called.  _(1)_

Percival quickly glanced towards Credence, who’d stared into space and seemed shell-shocked. His face twisted into a grimace, Credence stood up and moved towards the window, the blanket wrapped around his bony, scarred shoulders.

“Credence, don’t…,” Percival started, but Credence held up a hand and leaned out of the window. With a resigned expression, he observed Grindelwald and didn’t flinch as the German looked up and spotted him.

“ _Komm herunter!_ ” Grindelwald snapped. As Credence made no move to obey his command, the man’s face twisted into a grimace. “Shall I _make_ you come down? Get down here, little rosebud!” he bellowed.  _(2)_

Credence still didn’t obey and stayed rooted to the spot.

“Rosebud!” Grindelwald yelled.

Credence turned away from the window and grinned at Percival.

“I don’t feel compelled to do anything!” he whispered excitedly. “We did it! We broke the curse!” he added and threw his arms around Percival.

The blanket slipped from Credence’s shoulders as Percival hugged him back, momentarily lost in the bliss.

“How?” Percival asked as he held Credence close.

“I don’t know,” he exclaimed. “I don’t care!”

Credence pulled Percival in for a quick kiss and then let out a whooping laugh. “I’m free!” he yelled. “No more Gellert, no more funfairs, no more trances!”

“What is the meaning of this?” Grindelwald yelled from the street. “Why are you not listening to me? Credence, come down here immediately and I might be convinced to be lenient and not punish you!”

Credence recovered from his adrenaline high and looked towards the window again.

“Gellert needs to be apprehended before he can leave town,” he said. “I can testify that he went to kill the drunk man, if that helps the police.”

“Credence, first of all, we need clothes,” Percival said and Credence agreed with a blush.

“That would be a good idea, I suppose.”

They quickly got dressed and snuck out of the backdoor of Percival’s house towards the police station. It took a few minutes to convince Tina and Sheriff Picquery to go after Grindelwald once more, but Credence’s testimony did the trick in the end.

The German was arrested – his game was over.

*** *** ***

Several months later, Grindelwald had long been transferred to a state penitentiary and Credence had moved in with Percival. The two men were walking through the streets of Hogsmeade one evening, enjoying their new and growing relationship.

“Credence, may I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer it if it makes you uncomfortable,” Percival began.

“Of course,” Credence agreed. “Ask whatever you want.”

Percival took a deep breath. “When we first met, you told me you saw us together in a vision. What did you see?”

Credence stopped and turned to face Percival.

“I saw us,” he replied with a shy smile. “We were older and we were sitting in the parlor of your house. You held my hand and leaned over to kiss me.”

“Older, you said?” Percival echoed.

Credence’s smile morphed into a grin for a moment. “We’ve got years and years spent together to look forward to, Percival Graves. I should know,” he answered. “I used to be a seer, after all, and I was always right.”

**The End**

 

****“Das furchtbare Ding, das sein Leben war, bekommt einen Sinn.” = „This awful thing which was his life acquires a meaning“ from the prologue to „Berlin Alexanderplatz“ (1929) by Alfed Döblin.

(1): "Wo hast du dich verkrochen, du undankbares Ding?" = "Where are you, you ungrateful thing?"

(2): "Komm herunter!" = "Get down!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a moment, I was so tempted to go with the original Caligari twist, but I thought no, the two deserve their happy ending.
> 
> Please, let me know what you think about the fic and leave me a comment <3
> 
> Find me on tumblr, I'm [@almost-annette](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/almost-annette) and always prepared to fangirl over Fantastic Beasts!

**Author's Note:**

> * "Komm, oh Tod, du Schlafes Bruder" = "Come, oh death, you brother of sleep" - a quote from a church cantata by J. S. Bach; BWV 56
> 
> If you like the fic, please leave a comment and kudos! Getting feedback means the world to me and fuels my muse <3


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